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Madison, WI usually comes up near the top of any list of cities with the biggest white-black behavioral gaps in the country. But now the City Fathers of Madison have a plan for battling gun violence: arrest wanted criminals. From the Wisconsin State-Journal:

A bold short-term plan to remove Madison’s most notorious criminals from the streets was announced by Madison Police Chief Mike Koval Wednesday because they are holding the city “hostage to our fears.”

As the number of homicides and calls for “shots fired” reach record levels with nearly five months remaining this year, “there is an anxiety level in this city that is palpable,” Koval said.

At the top of the most-wanted list are the city’s “most egregious offenders and gang members,” all of whom are currently wanted for various crimes or have broken their terms of probation, Koval said.

The targets at the top of the list also are all African-American. Koval said he received calls Thursday from some people who told him his plan has racist overtones, particularly since less than 8 percent of the Madison population is African-American. …

Madison Mayor Paul Soglin offered robust support for Koval’s plan and urged citizens to make the city safer by talking to police if they know where any criminals and their guns are located.

“There are 40 to 80 people — principally men — who are flagrantly shooting and killing people and terrorizing an entire city. Tragically, eight of the 10 homicide (victims) this year are African-Americans and, tragically, African-Americans have been involved in all 10 homicides based on who has been charged or are suspects in these murders. That is the reality,” Soglin said. …

Johnson said just arresting people won’t solve the rising level of violent crime in the city.